You Promised, No?
by AstralParagon
Summary: The nationals are coming closer and Haruka's nerves are fried completely. What does it take to get Haruka to realize his passion? Maybe a little brotherly intervention will help. Brotherly Haruka/Tobio. MakoHaru and KageHina


A/N: No lie, someone make a picture with Kageyama drawn Free! style or Haruka drawn Haikyuu! style, I swear they'll look the same somehow. Starts at the scene at where Makoto is messaging Rin to tell him to bring Haru to Australia, which I think wasn't shown but implied. Brace yourselves for OOC-ness!

WARNING (I guess?): In point of views by either Makoto or Haruka, Kageyama will be called by his first name unless called out by Karasuno. In his own point of view, Kageyama will be called by his maternal last name (Kageyama). By the by, Nanase is their father's last name and Kageyama is their mother's last name.

Okay, weird timeline. In the Free! timeline, this is somewhere before the fireworks festival and before Rin got the tickets to go to Australia. In the Haikyuu! timeline, it's several weeks before their second go at preliminaries. Basically after the training camp ends. Pretend Iwatobi and Karasuno's school years begin and end at different times of the year; Iwatobi ends in the early summer and Karasuno in early fall. So for Iwatobi, the third years are graduating now and the third years in Karasuno still have one more tournament to go through. Weeks after swimming nationals is the volleyball preliminaries in terms of order.

Oh, and italics stand for a lot of things here, phone calls, thoughts, different languages, etc. Be aware.

* * *

"_Haru-nii!"_

_"Promise that we'll do it for them! Promise me!"_

* * *

Makoto looked at his phone and at the contact he had pressed on. Matsuoka Rin. He was the only person he knew that could help Haruka with what he was going through. The elder boy was in turmoil and Makoto couldn't do anything. What could he do? He knew how subdued Haruka was when it came to personal matters, not wanting anything or anyone to get involved. Haruka had always been independent from the world and preferred to work on his own. However, that being his undoing, only a person who could match his otherwise hidden brashness could get him out of this situation or one of his family members could do it.

However, Makoto didn't have any way to contact Haruka's relatives so Rin was the best choice. He sighed and started to type in a text message to the red head if his phone didn't suddenly ring. He flinched, not expecting a call at this time. He peered at the number but he didn't recognize it. It was from out of Iwatobi, that much he could tell. Who was it? Who was able to get his phone number? Pushing past his fears, Makoto answered the call and hesitantly placed it against his ear.

"H-Hello?" Curse his stutter. Makoto heard a sigh from the other line and a shift in hands.

"_Hello? Makoto?_" A rather deepish voice asked and the swimmer heard shouting from the other line. "_Sorry it's so loud he- Hinata, fuck off!_" Makoto winced slightly but in the back of his head, he had a feeling he knew who was calling him but couldn't pinpoint it.

"I'm s-sorry, but who is this?" he asked and for some reason, his nervousness disappeared and was replaced with curiosity. Who was this?

"_Ah, I should have expected this. You don't remember me, do you._" The last line was a clear statement and Makoto chuckled nervously. He was about to answer until the shouting on the other line got louder and the cursing of the caller got even snappier. As he listened (unfortunately), Makoto never thought he would hear "dumbass" so many times in one sentence but apparently he was wrong. The other line suddenly got shifted a lot and the shouting got garbled. Makoto, being the polite soul he was, waited for the commotion to settle down. The volume in voices changed loud and soft before a particularly nasty curse escaped the caller's mouth and the other voice, which Makoto could finally identify as another boy but with a higher voice, whined.

"_I just want to know why you needed my phone, Kageyama!_" Makoto's eyes widened and his phone nearly slipped from his hand. _Kageyama?_

"_Argh, I needed to call one of my brother's friends! Now will you go away?_" Well that just put the icing on the cake.

"_You have a brother?! Why did you never tell us, Kageyama?!_" Another voice from the other side, one just a tad lower than the other exclaimed.

"_Nishinoya-san?! Why is- Argh, GET OUT GUYS!_" Then the phone call was ended, probably to diffuse the commotion that had went from just two to more than two. However, that escaped Makoto's swirling mind. He knew that last name anywhere. After all, it was also technically Haru's.

* * *

Makoto had first met Nanase Haruka's little brother Nanase Tobio after one of their sessions at the Iwatobi Swim Club. It had been before they met Rin and Nagisa so it had quite a long time since then, maybe when they were eight or nine. It was raining rather hard then so the Nanases had offered to pick up Makoto from the club and bring him home with Haruka. Haruka had told him that his parents were picking Tobio from volleyball practice so Makoto would finally meet his little brother. He hadn't ever seen Tobio at the Nanases, but then again he didn't go there as often as Haruka went to his house.

The first time Makoto saw Tobio, Haruka's little brother was six or seven and really, really, energetic.

The little boy had run in like a rocket and ran right up to his older brother. Even without knowing who he was, Makoto could guess that the boy was Haru-chan's precious baby brother. He had never seen such an expression on Haruka's face. He had a sort of soft expression with a wide smile on his cheeks. His eyes sparkled while he looked at his little brother and ruffled his hair affectionately. The smaller boy squealed in laughter and babbled to his older brother before finally noticing the boy who accompanied his brother.

When the youngster looked at him, Makoto could see the family resemblance. Tobio's hair was cropped in a similar way to Haruka's but his fringe never got close to his slanted eyes. Tobio's eye color was also a little like Haru's. While Haruka's eyes was an ocean, Tobio's eyes was a storm waiting to happen. However in terms of personality, the youngest Nanase was nearly the complete opposite of his big brother.

Tobio had walked up to him, eyeing him with his wide slanted eyes. Makoto had actually flinched, since he'd never been scrutinized so closely before. Then the boy grinned.

"You're Haru-nii's best friend, right?" Tobio's voice was a fairly high pitch but low enough to be able to match with Makoto's own. "Haru-nii told me looooots of things about you!" Haruka's face erupted in red and Makoto blinked, surprised.

"Tobio! What did I tell you about doing that?!" Haruka snapped, and the six/seven year old laughed. Tobio laughed at his brother's expense and Makoto relaxed at seeing such a natural reaction on Haruka's face even if others would think it was unnatural to see any expression except boredom.

Tobio had introduced himself and promptly dragged Makoto away from Haruka, eliciting an indignant squawk from the latter, another rarity. Makoto supposed only some things could only be seen if a family member was around and when Tobio was around, he had learned more things about Nanase Haruka then he thought possible.

* * *

Makoto stared at his phone, waiting for another call from Nanase Tobio or now he supposed, Kageyama Tobio. Of all people, Haruka's little brother was calling him for something. How did he even get a hold of his number? The green phone laid unmoving much to his chagrin and Makoto's thoughts drifted off.

He'd seen Tobio everyday since then until Tobio and Haruka's parents decided to move away. He didn't remember what age he was exactly but he knew that Tobio was becoming withdrawn from his family. He became moody but still held his family close to his heart. The only one able to open him up was Haruka but even then, he sometimes wouldn't respond to his calls. If it involved the sport of the younger's passion, Makoto and even Haruka wouldn't be able to understand. Volleyball was a whole different topic to them, as different from night and day, as the sea from the land. When the rest of the family moved out, Tobio had hesitated to leave, wanting to stay with his brother but his parents didn't allow it.

The phone rang loudly and Makoto instantly scrambled for it. He nearly fell face forward onto the floor but answered it as quickly as he could.

"Hello?" He nearly exclaimed as he straightened himself out. It was a lot quieter on the other side of the line now and Makoto thanked the stars for that.

"_Sorry about earlier. My teammates tried to take the phone,_" Tobio sighed and Makoto laughed. He waved his hand to dismiss the notion even if the other couldn't actually see it.

"It's alright! Wow Tobio, you sound so different then from the last time I spoke to you!" Makoto said and he heard the other let out a huff.

"_Understandable. It's been a long time, Makoto. So you do remember me._" Makoto tilted his head curiously.

"Why aren't you calling me 'Mako-nii' like you used to, Tobio-chan?" Makoto's smile became devious and he heard Tobio sputter in the background. The younger boy stuttered to come up with an explanation but Makoto laughed it off before he could say anything coherit. "You don't have to answer that Tobio. So why'd you call?"

Tobio coughed in what Makoto presumed to be embarrassment before clearing his throat. "_I heard about what happened to Haru-nii at your regionals._" The atmosphere dimmed suddenly and Tobio's voice now had an edge of seriousness in it. Makoto's heart waned at the mention of what happened. "_What happened, Makoto? I thought he liked to swim._"

"Well, since it's our last year, Haru's dealing with the pressure," Makoto sat on his bed and ran a hand through his olive brown locks. "He was never forced to make a decision about swimming that decided his future. He just swam for the feeling of being in the water."

"_Haru-nii's not going to swim competitively?_" Tobio asked, surprised, "_I always thought that he would choose to swim competitively since he likes the water so much._" Makoto shook his head.

"No, he's rejected the idea of ever going to swim just for the sake of winning. He had always claimed that he swim just because he felt like it." Makoto replied and he suddenly felt the air shift into darker tones. He was in tune with both the Nanase brothers, Haruka the most but could feel Tobio's mood changes. This was one of them and he knew the younger was angry.

"_So he forgot?_" Tobio's voice was borderline hissing and Makoto involuntarily shivered. What happened to the boy when he was in Miyagi? What was he talking about? Makoto knew it wasn't his place to pry so he didn't exactly ignore the comment, but simply passed through it.

"I don't know what to do, Tobio. Haru's not cooperating and since the nationals are coming up, we can't really do anything right now." Makoto sighed before looking at his phone from the corner of his eyes. "Any ideas?" Surprisingly, he got an answer.

"_Yes, I planned ahead already._" Tobio answered and there was a shift in hands once more, "_I already contacted Matsuoka-san and your parents, so you don't have to be worried about fees and tickets._" Makoto's eyes widened to saucers. Fees? Tickets?! What-

"What are you talking about, Tobio?" he asked. He didn't want to know honestly. To his dismay, the younger continued to ramble on.

"_So it'll be you, me and…_" Tobio's voice suddenly became far off, like he pulled it away from his ear and was holding at an arms length. "_Hinata, I hope you got your bags ready because once I'm finished with this call, we're leavin'!_" Tobio's voice became closer once more. "_What do you mean, Makoto? I thought you knew._"

"No!" Makoto shouted, exasperated, "What are you talking about?"

"_Then you didn't get your bags._" Tobio's voice didn't change from that "matter of fact" tone. "_Well then, pack your bags Mako-nii. You're going to Australia._" He hung up, leaving Makoto shocked and speechless.

"_**WHAT?!**_"

* * *

The fireworks festival was a beautiful event, he had to say. Karasuno, like Iwatobi, had a week off until the beginning of school once more. Kageyama was visiting his hometown since then and had come in time to see the festival. He had wanted to be alone then, but apparently…

"This is your hometown, Kageyama?!" Hinata and Nishinoya were awing the sights of Iwatobi and Kageyama nearly facepalmed. No, he wasn't alone. The other members had invited themselves to come. It wasn't a very expensive fare anyway. Both Miyagi and Iwatobi were close to the ocean, Iwatobi closer to the seas since the mountains of Miyagi overlooked the sea. Daichi and Suga looked at the young setter sympathetically and Yamaguchi was dragging Tsukishima towards one of the booths. Ukai and Takeda stood next to each other with Yachi and Kiyoko while the Karasuno members were darting to different parts of the festival.

"You guys know where to meet up! Make sure you get there on time!" Ukai called before everyone finally dispersed. The group of the three third years went one way while the second years and Hinata, led by an excited Nishinoya and Tanaka went the other way. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima went another way and Kageyama was finally alone.

Kageyama found himself wandering down to the beach where there were already so many other people. Little kids ran past him while their parents called for them tirely. He walked passed standing couples waiting for others. He was here for his brother and maybe Makoto if he was here, but where were they? They should be at the beach or someth-

"Tobio?!" Kageyama blinked and looked to where he was called. His storm blue met the wide yet droopy emerald green and he went right over to him. Well, him and two others. Kageyama, standing at 5'11", actually made to look down just a little to meet the others' eyes. Not Makoto's, since he was six feet tall. Makoto was surprised and sputtering, but Kageyama wasn't surprised. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"Makoto, I was looking for you," Kageyama said right back, ignoring the sputtering of the older. He turned to the blonde and the bluenette who were looking at him with curious eyes. "Who're you?" Makoto collected himself and smiled at Haruka's little brother. He gestured to the other two.

"Oh Nagisa, Rei," he said, gesturing to Tobio, "This is Nanase-" "Kageyama, Makoto." "Right. Kageyama Tobio, Haru's little brother." The two, which Kageyama presumed to be Nagisa and Rei, had their eyes light up and the blonde instantly went up to him.

"Wow! You're Haru-chan's brother?!" the blonde's eyes sparkled, "You're so tall!" He stuck his hand out and grinned. "I'm Hazuki Nagisa! The one with the glasses here is Ryugazaki Rei!" Kageyama stepped back, surprised. Rei sighed and nudged Nagisa's hand down.

"Don't overwhelm him, Nagisa-kun." Rei looked up at Makoto, "Makoto-senpai, go to Haruka-senpai. He needs you." He looked at Tobio, "His little brother can meet with him later." Makoto nodded and left towards the stairs. Tobio looked at the two before him and the air around him suddenly became imposing. His eyes narrowed slightly and Rei seemingly recoiled at it. This was Haruka's brother?! He was well behaved since Makoto was around but… He seemed too hostile to be the _little_ brother of the passive Nanase Haruka and the air around him made him seem frightening. Nagisa seemed to notice and slung his arm around Kageyama's shoulders. The hostility disappeared and was replaced with surprise. Rei sighed in relief.

"So this is your first time coming back to Iwatobi, Tobio-chan?" Kageyama immediately tensed but Nagisa didn't notice. "Come on! If you left when Haru-chan's parents left, then you haven't seen the new things in Iwatobi!" He was dragged away by shorter but stronger male, with Rei hot on their trail while sighing.

* * *

The festival had ended and Kageyama was going back to the hotel they were staying at with the rest of his team. He hadn't seen his brother at all at the festival, leaving him a bit irked. His temper had mellowed just a bit from staying with Karasuno but he was still bothered. The others had noticed at tried to diffuse the tension.

"So you and Hinata are going to Australia, right?" Suga asked, making Nishinoya and Tanaka laugh loudly. Kageyama's attention landed on his senior and he nodded. "You never told us why." Kageyama blinked, he really didn't. The only one he told was the orange haired volleyball player.

"Yeah!" Nishinoya shouted, "Why, are you going to go on a date with Hinata?!" Kageyama and Hinata looked at each other, faces red. When their eyes met, they immediately looked away from each other and their faces got even hotter.

"W-well," Kageyama coughed into his hand then started, looking up at the group, "It wasn't my idea and it's for my brother. I heard from one of his other friends that he wasn't exactly feeling well, so one of his friends had planned to bring him to Australia. Well, his parents told my parents and they wanted me and his other friend, Makoto to come with him. And," Kageyama ducked his head so his chin nearly touched his collar,"my parents didn't want me to be alone so they wanted me to bring someone with me."

"So you picked Hinata?!" Tanaka cackled, "If that isn't-" Tanaka wasn't able to finish his sentence since Daichi caught him in a headlock. Suga smiled at the younger setter.

"That's really cute, Kageyama," Suga gushed and Kageyama and Hinata both got a lot redder at that. Everyone ended up laughing, either at the two's expense or at the antics of the team. However, a thumping of steps caught their attention and everyone saw a figure running in their direction. The figure seemed like he wasn't going to change direction so Karasuno created a path for them. Kageyama's eyes narrowed and when the figure's appearance came in the limelight, his eyes widened.

"Haru-nii?!" he exclaimed, stepping forward to grab his brother's arm. He didn't need to, for Haruka had stopped when his eyes made contact with his brother's own. Haruka's eyes were wide and dilated, probably out of shock and possible anger. He was running on pure adrenaline, Kageyama realized, this wasn't his calm and collected brother.

"Tobio! What are you doing here?" Surprise gave way to anger, Haruka's eyes narrowed and the glare in his eyes was borderline nasty. Kageyama recoiled and everyone saw something in the setter's eyes that had never seen before. Fear. "What, are you here to tell me that I have a dream, a future?! That I could do something with a dream that I don't have?! Or are you going to tell me that you'll leave me again, alone?!"

"Haru-nii! Calm down!" Kageyama tried, already unnerved at his brother's behavior,"Yes, you do have a dream but you just need to remember! The promise that we made near the sea! Remember that, so we'll be brothers again! I'm here now, so you're not-!"

"You haven't contacted me since Mom and Dad took you away," Haruka's voice lowered and Kageyama's eyes widened, "I tried so many times to call you, but you never answered. All those times that Makoto wasn't there and couldn't help, I tried to tell you. You never answered and left me. You say you won't leave alone anymore, then what the hell was that?!" Haruka's voice rose in volume, "Makoto's already leaving me and Rin has a dream, but I have nothing!" Ripping his arm away from his little brother's grip, Haruka went right back to running and no one stopped him. The members of Karasuno had their eyes on their youngest member.

"Kageyama…?" Hinata went right up to his setter and looked up at him worriedly. Kageyama's eyes were wide and full of shock and remorse. Then, all of a sudden, he collapsed on the floor and began to cry. Hinata was the first to act, bending in front of the setter and wrapping his arms around him. The other members of the volleyball team surround them to pry away any wandering eyes. Hinata heard the angry mutters of Daichi and Suga, the threats of Tanaka and Nishinoya for hurting one of their kouhai, and even the soft but hearable mumbles of the rest of the crew.

Hinata's hold on Kageyama tightened. He looked up to the other, not that he would admit it verbally, for being so stupidly _perfect_. Seeing him like this was like an arrow to the heart. Kageyama's sobs weren't letting up and a possessive light suddenly overtook Hinata's heart. If Kageyama wanted to set his brother straight, then by all means was Hinata going to help.

It was only when Haruka was home was when he realized what he said to his brother and he himself collapsed into wails.

* * *

"Are you sure you're in the condition to leave for Australia?" The next morning, Takeda asked Kageyama as the latter adjusted the bag on his shoulder. The plane Kageyama, Hinata, and Makoto were taking was later than Haruka's and RIn's, so they would meet up with them at the pool where the international tournament was held. Behind him, Hinata whizzed back and forth, gathering his own bags for the trip to Australia. Yamaguchi and Nishinoya went after him to help with anything he had been missing. Kageyama nodded at his teacher.

"Yes I'm fine," he answered, "Haru-nii was stressed, I understand that. He didn't mean those words." Takeda's expression softened.

"But you were crying…" Kageyama had come to the hotel as a bundle of crying nerves. Hinata was there by his side, as was the rest of Karasuno, glaring at any unfortunate onlookers. Kageyama's parents who were visiting for the festival, instantly fussed over their youngest son. He had went to sleep with the trail of tears still there and everyone let Hinata handle the younger and they had ended up sleeping on the same bed. Kageyama shook his head and the frown on his face lightened up.

"I'm fine, sensei." he looked at Hinata, who was taking a box of food Kiyoko was offering to him. "HInata, let's go. We're going to miss our flight." Kageyama walked towards the door to wait for Hinata. Hinata darted up to him with a bun in his mouth and his bags all slung on his arms. Kageyama rolled his eyes and, with a final goodbye, left for the airport.

At the airport, Hinata was in complete awe. He had never been in an airport before because his parents never had enough money to go anywhere out of Japan. He followed Kageyama through the airport. The setter must have been to one before. His parents were rich, being the heads of one of the most prominent companies worldwide. Kageyama told him after he had infiltrated his call to his brother's friend that he and his brother lived alone and their parents sustained the bills and payment. That and his parents flew around a lot and sometimes Kageyama was there to bid them farewell.

They walked through the airport, looking for Kageyama's brother's friend. People bolted past them, meeting up with their own friends or running towards the flights they were late for. Hinata watched them with wide slanted eyes before Kageyama suddenly bounded forward.

"Makoto!" Hinata and Kageyama ran up to a taller teenager with droopy green eyes and Hinata peered up at him curiously. The brunette smiled at them and met up with them halfway.

"Tobio!" he called and shook his hand when they met up, "Oh, who's this?" Hinata didn't let Kageyama introduce him so he walked right up to the brunette and bowed quickly.

"My name is Hinata Shouyou! It's nice to meet you!" he exclaimed, making people's eyes turn to him. Kageyama immediately became irked and Hinata found a hand pressing down on his head.

"Dumbass Hinata," he hissed and the brunette laughed at their antics. Hinata looked up at the tall teen once more.

"Hinata-san, then?" he asked, "Well then, I'm Tachibana Makoto. I think Tobio-chan told you about me already." Hinata's eyes darted to Kageyama at that and his smile became devious.

"Tobio-chan? I thought only the Grand King called you that." he smirked and laughed at Kageyama's indignant squawk. Makoto looked at them curiously but he never got a reply of any sort. Tobio straightened and sent Hinata a glare before looking at his senior.

"When are we leaving, Makoto?" he asked. Makoto turned his back on them and began to walk in another direction.

"Soon. Come on, let's be there early." he said, "Let's go, I want Hinata-san to tell me about himself." The two juniors followed the other dutifully and Hinata couldn't help but think that he and Makoto would get along swimmingly.

"Wait," Hinata paused, "If we're going to Australia, do either of you know how to speak English?"

* * *

✖Insert Free Eternal Summer Episode 12 until the Aquatic Centre here✖

* * *

The Aquatic Centre was largely silent, save of the quiet cracks of bones popping where the Australian national team was sitting. They were undisturbed and the quiet lull of the water comforted the ears of the swimmers. The patter of footsteps overcame the silence and the curious swimmers looked up. Two other swimmers, much younger than the group were passing by them. They weren't Australian but when did nationality ever matter in swimming? The duo of the red head and blackette stood in front of the pool. The redhead looked up at his companion and the black haired teen stepped up at the sixth placing, looking out to the waters before him.

One of the Australian national team, a blonde with blue eyes stood up from his place and walked up next to the black haired teen. The blonde went to do his usual routine by snapping a swimming cap over his unruly hair. He looked at the ocean blue eyes of the teenager and he smiled at him.

"_Hey, mate,_" he greeted and the teen's eyes widened, "_How's it going?_" He bent forwards and placed his hands at the edge of the standing. Pulling back his body briefly, he then propelled himself forwards saying, "_Let's go!_" Unbeknownst to the others, the black haired teen reached a realization and suddenly, the world became so much brighter.

The stands were filled with people, cheering for the competitors good luck or for success. Banners were held up of screaming people and parents were crying proudly for their sons in the international team. Cameras swiveled around the swimming stadium and all types of languages were echoing through the confines of the stadium. There were many kinds of faces, Australian, Japanese, every nationality in the world was cheering for the nation in which they represented.

And all in the middle of it was Haru.

The stadium was alight with fire and excitement and Haru was in awe himself. He was actually standing before the waters for not only himself, but for Japan. He looked up at the stands and his eyes passed by each of the people cheering loudly. As his eyes passed over them, he found people, those he knew whom were older than he remembered and those he didn't, whom he never thought would watch him competitively play.

There was his parents, crying for him and a camera poised in his father's hands. Nagisa, Rei, and Gou, all with their old Iwatobi Swim Club banner, the one with his drawing of Iwatobi-chan was cheering for him loudly with tears running down their faces. There were other people with Iwatobi Swim Team jackets, like they were watching their idol take his first step in the international limelight. There was Tobio and an orange haired person next to him, both screaming their hearts out. With them was a whole other batch of people wearing black uniforms also cheering fiercely for him. Then there was Makoto.

With Makoto was the rest of his family and Ren and Ran looked like teenagers. However Makoto was the center of his attention. On his lap was a little girl, staring in awe at the scene before her. Her olive green hair was tied into small pigtails and Haru saw that she had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.

A wind blew over Haruka and his eyes widened in realization.

_I want to swim._

He bent in position and the cheering intensified. Something sounded behind him and he propelled himself forwards. His arms went in slow motion, like a bird's wings as they spread outwards to fly. If one looked at him, they would see him beaming and a bright smile was on his face.

_In this place…_

_...forever..._

A tear escaped his eye as he closed them peacefully.

_I want to keep swimming… for-_

"Haru!"

Haruka opened his eyes and turned, seeing Rin smiling at him. His grin growing, he looked past Haru and said, "Look who's here." Haruka blinked and turned to his other side. His eyes widened and his jaw slightly unhooked open at the familiar person.

"Hello, Haru-chan." Makoto smiled down at his friend. He was in his own jammers and a cap and goggles were already in place. The national swimmers had cleared out, leaving them in their own privacy.

"Makoto," Haru started, breathless, "What are you doing here?" Makoto smiled at him.

"I'm not the only one here, Haru," he said and Haruka's eyes were drawn to the other side of the pool where two lone figures stood. One of them was that orange haired person he'd seen in his vision and the other was none other than Tobio, waving at him. His brother's name left his lips in a whisper and Rin grinned. He placed his goggles on his eyes.

"Come on, let's go," Rin said before jumping into the water. Makoto smiled at him before following. Haruka stood there and a smile drifted on his face before jumping in right after.

"Yeah!"

* * *

"So apparently, I wasn't needed." Haruka looked around to see his brother come up next to him. He had been talking to Rin earlier before he had left to talk to Makoto. They had spoke about Rin's future in Australia and Haruka said that he had finally found Now he was alone with Tobio and his odd haired friend. Speaking of his brother's friend, he was glaring at him hatefully. The orange haired teen looked at him with narrowed brown eyes and Haruka looked away from him. Tobio took his place next to his brother and leaned against the railing.

"Tobio…" Haruka muttered and refused to meet eyes with his brother. He couldn't say anything after what had happened back at Iwatobi. The first thing he had done when he saw his brother was shout at him, blaming him for leaving him alone when it wasn't his fault. He wasn't good with emotions and neither was he good at expressing them. Haruka knew that Tobio was in the same boat as him and neither of them said anything. The one to break the silence was the orange haired teenager.

"After what you said to Kageyama the first time we met, I know I can't forgive you," the teenager started and Haruka kept his eyes planted onto the ground, "but, Kageyama looks up to you in a way I've never seen before." Haruka lifted his head then and looked the other in the eyes. The light ginger's eyes were slanted just like his brother's but weren't narrowed like before. Even Tobio was looking to his friend with curious eyes.

"After all of us found out about you, he never stopped talking about you. He told us how cool you were and how composed and focused you were. How you didn't care for swimming but you swam beautifully regardless." the boy's hands rolled into fists, "He told us how much he admired you and your ability to swim. To be honest, we thought that you would be just like Kageyama, hot headed and prone to cursing and that you didn't have a care in the world about others except for yourself. A jerk who cared for winning and nothing else." Haruka's eyes flickered to Tobio at that. Was he really like that once? Hinata continued, "I really did think you were like that, especially after what happened in Iwatobi. But after I saw you swim, I knew I was wrong." He looked at Haru was a gleam in his amber eyes, "That was the brother Kageyama looked up to and the one that was so close to him. None of us at Karasuno can replace how special you are to his heart so we wanted to make sure that Kageyama was in the right hands." Hinata exhaled. "I just wanted to tell you that."

An awkward silence settle between the three boys. Haruka was in shock, to be honest. He didn't know anything about what happened to Tobio in middle school. Was his brother really that self-centered then? How did Haruka not know any of this? The silence became tense and soon it was thick enough that Hinata spoke once more, except with more of an innocent undertone.

"Is it true that despite his brother being one of the best swimmers he's known, he himself can't swim for his life?" Haruka smiled at that and Tobio flinched.

"Yeah, Tobio never wanted to learn to swim. I need learned why." Haruka replied. He heard his brother muttered something under his breath. The orange haired shorty nudged Tobio slightly and their eyes met. They communicated in a way like Haruka did with Makoto and he finally was on the outside of it all. Tobio's eyes darted from his friend to his brother.

"I never wanted to learn because I wanted to be good at something you weren't." Tobio said while looking at Haruka from the corner of his eye. "Do you remember the promise, Haru-nii? The one we made before you joined the swim club."

Yes, Haruka did recall the promise. Both he and his brother were very young so how he was even able to remember was a feat in of itself. At a young age, Tobio had found himself to be adept in volleyball the way his brother was in swimming. Their parents wanted to develop that into something far greater which they couldn't do with Haruka. Their parents were land creatures and Haruka was more like a walking merman than anything, so they switched their attention on their youngest son.

Even at a young age, little Tobio was competitive. He wanted to get stronger and get better. He knew his weak points and strove to overcome them. His brother on the other hand liked where he was and didn't develop his own skills. So, after a session at Tobio's volleyball club, the two made a promise.

_"Haru-nii, you have to promise me that when we get older, we'll get better and we'll see each other on tv."_

_"What? That's impossible, Tobio. We can't do that."_

_"Yes we can! You can't give up so early, nii-chan! We'll be on tv and see all of our family and friends watching us-"_

_"We don't many friends, Tobio."_

_"We will when we get older! They'll be our teammates! Our bestest of friends! And they won't leave us ever!"_

_"What are we getting better for? With no motive-"_

_"We'll get better for our friends and family, Haru-nii! We'll play volleyball and swim for our family and friends! For our teammates too! We'll win and be cool on tv together with them! Now promise me!"_

_"...Alright..."_

"I admit," Haruka looked at Tobio, who had started talking, "I forgot the promise in middle school. I thought that winning relied on me and my skills and not everyone else's. But," he glanced at his orange haired friend whose name Haruka still hadn't learned, "It was in high school that I remembered again. It's hard getting along with others again but I'm trying."

Haruka smiled slightly and reached up to ruffle his brother's hair. "Is that all you were going to tell me?" He asked. Tobio pouted and Haruka chuckled. "I thought I had fulfilled my side of the promise last year. I said was going to swim for my friends and family but I wasn't going to get better for them. I would be staying the same level while everyone else moved forward. Well then, thanks for reminding me Tobio."

Tobio became flustered and Haruka's smile grew a little. "Um, yes," he said, "S-so, you better do your side of the promise, Haru-nii!"

"You too, Tobio."

"Hey guys, when are we leaving? I think Tachibana-san waving at us."

* * *

"You can't make me."

"Come on Kageyama, get in the water!"

"You're talking shit, Hinata! You aren't even close to it!"

"Tobio, get in the water."

"Haru-nii, let go!"

Makoto laughed as Tobio was being dragged into the water by his water loving brother. Around him, other members of the Karasuno Volleyball Club were either in the water or walking around it. It was the day after the graduation of the third years in Iwatobi and four days until Haruka and Makoto were due for Tokyo. Wanting to see his brother for a final farewell, the Karasuno Volleyball Club made no hesitation to accompany him to Iwatobi. Luckily for them, it was the weekend and the ISCR was closed for the day. As Iwatobi's coach, Sasabe made the club open exclusively for the high school swim team and the Miyagi prefecture volleyball players. Imagine the swim club's amusement when they found out almost half of the volleyball team, including their water lover's own brother, couldn't swim.

"Tobio-chan, the water's your friend, not your enemy!" Makoto called from his place near the edge of the pool where he was sitting. Beside him was Sawamura Daichi, who was one of the few who could swim. Tobio cried out in protest when he was dropped in the water unceremoniously but was quick to attempt to float on the water. When he felt himself sinking he grabbed on his brother, snapping at the laughing Hinata who was armed with floaters but not swimming.

"So you've known Kageyama for a long time?" Daichi asked from his place in the water. Makoto nodded and dropped into the water himself. "I can't imagine what he was like when he was younger. Snappy, probably."

"Not at all," Makoto laughed, "He was quite the energetic child, almost like Hinata-san."

"Really? There's no way." Daichi looked at Makoto incredulously.

"It's true! There was this one time..." While the two captains were talking, a whole other scene was happening with Nagisa, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi.

Nagisa and Tsukishima met eyes, both narrowed behind different tinted goggles. The fuchsia eyed teen winked at the other and the gold eyed teen rolled his eyes. Their eyes turned forward and Yamaguchi fumbled with the whistle in his hands. He placed it on his mouth and with a nod from Tanaka and Nishinoya he blew into it.

Nagisa and Tsukishima jumped into the waters with a splash and all commotion around quieted but didn't cease. To them all the sounds there were was the sound of their breathing and of the water sloshing around them. Both did front crawl and reached the other side of the pool at the same time. Their legs propelled them forward once more and soon enough, they found themselves amongst a cheering Tanaka and Nishinoya.

"Tsukishima rules these waters!" Tanaka screamed and Nishinoya was quick to follow with a, "The crows dominate the penguins!" Yamaguchi sighed at them.

"They tied guys," he said, "No one won." He bent down to help Tsukishima up from the pool and the other took his hand gratefully. "But that was amazing, Tsukki! I never knew you could swim so well!"

"It was nothing," Tsukishima said offhandedly while accepting a towel from Yamaguchi. Nagisa suddenly bounded forward, eyes sparkling brightly.

"That was awesome for someone who plays volleyball!" He gushed, "Freestyle's not one of my best but that was soooo cool!" Nagisa's expression then turned devious. "Hey, if you ever move to Iwatobi, the swimming club will welcome you with open arms!"

Then Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Yamaguchi were all around Tsukishima, holding onto his one way or another.

"Tsukishima belongs to Karasuno!" Tanaka shouted, "If you want him, you gotta get through his awesome senpais!" Nishinoya and Yamaguchi agreed but the former agreed with much more shouting and laughing.

"What are they doing now?" Rei asked while looking at the rowdy group of four, "Nagisa-kun is always finding his way into trouble." Sugawara Koushi and Azumane Asahi smiled at the bluenette.

"Nishinoya and Tanaka are like that as well," Asahi replied, "But sometimes it's worse than this." Rei sighed.

"Tell me about it. Nagisa can go and provoke someone without meaning to and gets into trouble." He said, waving his arm around as he spoke. Asahi and Suga glanced at each other and decided it was best not to tell him that Tanaka and Nishinoya went out of their way just to get in trouble. Instead they drifted on another topic.

"So Ryuugazaki-san," Suga began, "We heard that you weren't a swimmer before you joined the swim club. What made you change your mind?"

"Well there was Haruka-senpai's beautiful swimming," Rei couldn't help but gush, "and Nagisa-kun was persistent. I can say that I was much happier swimming then I was at running, having teammates like that..." Suga and Asahi smiled at each other and reminisced on their own team. Their weird dysfunctional family of crazy volleyball dorks that were the banes of their existences.

Some people thought of the family roles they would have in the family. The third years, the "mother", father, and uncle of the family. The second years, one half the crazy stunt pulling brothers that got into jail a lot and the other half the quiet and collected brothers who looked out for the young ones. Last the first years, the little children taking their first steps into the high school volleyball life. The same could be said for the Iwatobi club as well, no matter how small it was. After all, only in a dysfunctional family of lunatics was where you could feel that type of happiness.

Hinata watched the different groups interact with each other at different parts of the large pool. Makoto and Daichi were animately talking to each other, laughing at each other's comments. At one time he heard snippets of "Tobio", "trees", and "toy spiders" in one sentence. That scared him, just a little. Then there was the group with Nagisa and the blonde along with Tsukishima was attempting teaching Yamaguchi and Tanaka to swim. Attempting to be the key word, since Tanaka found it hilarious to splash around like a fish out of water _in _the water, if that made any sense. Nishinoya had interrupted Asahi, Rei, and Suga by dragging Asahi away to go on a swim with him. The elder was really lucky that he could swim and keep up with the hyperactive libero. Then there was Kageyama with his brother who was-

"_Dumbass_, get in the pool!" A hand latched onto his ankle and surprised the poor spiker. It yanked on his ankle and Hinata came flailing into the pool. He landed with a big splash and came up back to the surface sputtering. Beside him, Kageyama was floating with a smirk on his face while Haruka was shaking his head with disapproval.

"He can't accept the water if you do that," Haruka pointed out tiredly. Kageyama pouted at his brother but he went back to smirking when Hinata sputtered back on the surface.

"What the hell was that, Kageyama?!" Hinata shouted, his floaters keeping him above the surface. "And what about your swimming lesson?!"

"He's already finished, Hinata," Haru said, "Unlike you, Tobio has a natural connection to the water but hadn't realized it until now." Tobio smirked at him when Hinata blanched. As if showing off, he swam away from them with a perfect front crawl and swam back with a smirk plastered on his face. Hinata sneered at him before his sight was taken over of Kageyama's shorter brother.

"Now listen, I know how intense Tobio can get," Haruka started and Hinata began to feel unnerved, an all too familiar feeling, "And I'm no better. After all, _it must run in the family, no?_" Haruka's eyes narrowed and dimmed into a dark ocean blue.

Hinata gulped, he thought that at least Haruka wasn't terrifying beyond all means, but he was wrong. The Nanase-Kageyama family was crazy. Meanwhile, Makoto chuckled as he watched his best friend use his scary face after so many years. Only he and Tobio knew about it, after all Haruka would only use it to get his point across if he were with friends. Either that or he was giving a serious swimming lesson. Since the situation was of the latter, he knew Haruka was only going to be more intense than usual.

"Good luck, Hinata-san." Makoto bid before resuming his talk with Daichi. Two different teams of two different sports were now linked together. Some found talents in the other and some even made new companions. Even so…

"So you'll be there at our preliminaries?" Tobio asked when he was alone with his brother once more. Karasuno was going back to Miyagi and he wanted to speak to Haruka one last time. Haruka nodded and crossed his arms. Tobio adjusted the bag on his shoulder absentmindedly.

"Of course I will," Haruka replied, "You've got to do your side of the promise too, right?" Tobio blinked before grinning.

"Of course, Haru-nii!"

* * *

✖End You Promised, No?✖


End file.
